THE BARTON LUNDY FAMILY REUNION

Gillian Barton, the oldest daughter of Floyd and Ellen Barton could vividly remember the time when the slaves were about to be freed.  She recalled that the white slave mistress gave her some dishes to hide in the woods, because the army men were going from plantation to plantation destroying their possessions.  This was their way of letting them know that slavery was over, the blacks were now free.  Later in life, Gillian stated that she should have hidden some dishes for herself and not the mistress.

Pauline Litman, the only living daughter of Gillian, remembers hearing her mother say that during slavery her baby sister Lula would be under the house and she would wet a cloth with water and give it to “Lu” to suck on.

Known for her heavy hands and a loving heart, Gillian Barton came into this world in May of 1862, three years before the freeing of slaves.  On September 20, 1879, she and a young man named John Sinclair filed for a marriage license at the Bibb County Courthouse 22 days later on October 12 they were joined in holy matrimony by Reverend Madison Doffee.  This three week time period could indicate that they planned a nice celebration.

In March 1881, their first child was born and they named her Lela.  Two years later, another daughter Fannie was born in 1883.  Sadly around 1884, John Sinclair died, leaving a wife and two children.  About a year and a half later, Gilian met and married Joe Johnson who was about 35 years old and she was 23 years old.  To that union eight children were born:  GUSSIE, BESSIE, TOMMY, ELIZABETH, ANNIE, ROSETTA, PAULINE and GILBERT.

Joe Johnson decided that it was time to move from Macon, Georgia and find better work to make life more enjoyable for his family.  The Johnson family along with Gillian’s mother and brother, Thomas journeyed through many small towns before arriving in a little town in Telfair County.  This town called Lumber City would be their final resting place.  Joe built a large three bedroom house, made out of logs and sealed with mud.  The living room was on the south side of the house and was decorated with many family pictures and the pictures of all of the presidents of the United States.  In order to get to the kitchen, you would have to step down from the back of the house, because it was a few feet from the main house.  There was a long front porch that extended all the way across and to the side of the house.  In the front yard were two large mulberry trees, which still remain today, though the house was torn down many years ago.  The house was on a big farm, that Theodore Hamilton so vividly remembered when he took a trip to visit his great-aunt Gillian around the year 1914.

Christmas was a very special time for Gillian and Joe, their children and grandchildren.  Each Christmas, they had a large tree especially for their grandchildren.

            It is evident that Gillian loved pictures.  The earliest photograph of her is an old tintype taken in the 1880’s with her and one of her children on it.  She has been described as a beautiful, Indian skinned red lady with long, thick hair.  In her later years, she was said to have gained weight and weighed close to 200 pounds.

            In August of 1917, Joe Johnson died of a gallbladder infection.  He would not let anyone operate on him or stick a needle in him.  His funeral was at St. John’s Baptist Church and buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

Gillian married for the third to George Steele around the year 1930.  On January 30, 1939, while out in the yard picking up wood for the fireplace, she died at the age of 77.  She was funeralized at St. Johns Baptist Church in Lumber City, Georgia and buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.  

Some of the descendant family names include Sinclair, Wilder, Johnson, McRae, Andrews, Tobler, Chieves, Clements, Zanders, Litman, Atkinson. 

Dr. Skip Mason, Family Historian